


Show Me how to Breathe (I'll Drown Without You)

by mangorochi



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, M/M, Pirate!AU, Romance, everyone appears at one point or another - Freeform, mainly hunhan tho the other ships are extreeeemely minor, mermaid!au, you will have to squint v v very hard for the kaisoo lmao
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-06-18
Updated: 2017-07-29
Packaged: 2018-11-15 16:14:50
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 18,859
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11234595
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mangorochi/pseuds/mangorochi
Summary: Luhan is the most beautiful thing Sehun has ever encountered in all his years as a pirate. They're worlds apart, yet Luhan makes Sehun question everything about himself, and those around him- some who are more than willing to tear apart a happy encounter in exchange for a little bit of glory.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> ok...yes...did I just start a new 8.5k+ hunhan story I sure did. Sorry for those waiting on updates for my other stories- I promise I will get around to it!! Sometimes I just need to get out ideas that have bottled up in my head for too long, otherwise I'll be forcing myself to write stories I don't have the motivation or interest for. This one will be a twoshot fyi. Mermaid au is actually one of my uuuultimate favs, but it seems there's hardly ever any out there :/// anyways, pls enjoy! (and as soon as I'm done with the second part, I'll get around to my aokise and other hunhan story ;)) and p.s., I may re- edit this, because it's probably one of the longest chapters I've written lmao (lame and weak, I know :P) so pls forgive me if it seems scatterbrained or messy and auhehsjkdhjwet enjoy.

 

Show Me How to Breathe

 

The light spray of salty seawater was like heaven against Sehun’s hot and sweaty face. The crew had just been at the oars for nearly two sessions now, and for no immediate reason other than that Captain had deemed it “imperative” they take advantage of the high winds. Sehun had bit his tongue, not wanting to stir up trouble, although in his mind he was already bemoaning the ragged conditions his muscles would be in afterwards. It seemed that after all these years, working the oars would still be as laboring as it had been when he’d first started out; albeit the muscle he’d packed on along the way was a welcome aid compared to the scrawny, adolescent limbs he’d been blessed with when first climbing aboard the Black Pearl.

Captain had been lenient enough to give him the rest of the day off, although to what extent his niceties reached was quite questionable, seeing as the only reason had been because the winds had died done. Had they not, Sehun would no doubt still be heaving from the strenuous effort it took to move the giant wooden paddles dipping in and out of the restless ocean.

Sehun leaned against the edge of the ship deck’s railing, forearms resting against the aged wood. The blond closed his eyes and soaked in the relaxing air, relishing in the way the occasional breeze wafted against his red cheeks. It would be only one or two weeks until they reached land, or so Captain said. And anything that man said was law on the wooden decks of the Black Pearl.

“Sehun! Still standing? That’s a surprise,” called a gentle voice from behind him. “With the way Captain was working you all like dogs this afternoon, I would have thought you’d be sleeping away in the bunks like the others.”

Sehun opened his eyes when he heard the man to his left. Shrugging a shoulder as a lazy response, Sehun shifted so his back was against the railing and his elbows bore his weight as he leaned back, eyes closed and head thrown back to simply take in the scent of simple tranquility as he deeply breathed in and out through his nose.

“I don’t think sweating myself to death in the musky bunks sounds like a very amazing way to go,” Sehun snorted, rather on the rude side, although he’d been hoping to spend the rest of his afternoon _alone_. Not with the Black Pearl’s very own Nice Nancy. Or at least that’s what Sehun had internally dubbed the man in his head.

Yixing was not like the rest of the Black Pearl’s already motley crew. The rest of them, Sehun included, were sea- men. If not raised for the waters, then had been lulled by the call of the sea one way or another. It was the same for all of them, except Yixing, which always made Sehun wonder what it was exactly that the kind- eyed man had doing business with one of the most criminal pirate ships on the seven seas. From the first time Yixing had stepped aboard (which was about a year or so ago- Sehun didn’t really keep track of time when they were at sea), he’d shown everyone that he was a doctor in training that could handle a few stitches and bandage bloody wounds and make a vicious fish soup, and that was good enough to earn him a permanent spot alongside the other Black Pearl members.

Sehun had never bothered to ask what an _upstanding member of society_ like Yixing was doing aboard.

Then again, he never really cared either. And that also suited everyone on board just fine.

Sehun glanced sideways at the quiet doctor. The man was never much of a conversationalist, either, but sometimes Sehun much rather preferred the quiet mumbles of exchanges that were expected from a conversation with Yixing than the non stop chatterboxes that were Baekhyun and Chanyeol.

Next to Sehun, Yixing cleared his throat, which drew the other one out of his bustling thoughts.

“Just thought I’d let you know that it’s getting a little chilly at night, so better not leave the windows open as always when you fellows sleep,” Yixing advised, smiling his famous dimple- cheeked smile before leaving Sehun by himself once again.

Sehun didn’t say anything back to the doctor’s words of advice, as so many of his tips were often received. Although it didn’t mean Sehun didn’t take it to heart, because he always heeded the man’s words and they hadn’t proven to lead him astray thus far. He just couldn’t be bothered to even open his mouth to say a word of thanks, because his throat was oh- so dry and nothing sounded better to him at the moment than a tankard of chilled ale or rum or even apple juice, even the sickeningly sweet kind that Baekhyun always liked to carry in that flask of his-

A splash from down below made Sehun crack open his eyes, immediately squinting and shielding them when met with the sun’s unforgiving rays. The noise that came from the waters sounded like the splash of a particularly large fish or marine animal. If not stretched out on his hammock journaling to himself, or lounging around the kitchens waiting to snag a scrap of that night’s meal as Yixing prepared, Sehun was usually leaned across the railing, fishing pole in hand, probably chewing on a couple sunflower seeds.

Sehun stuck his tongue in his cheek as he peered down at the restless bluegreen waters. His interest was slightly piqued at the moment. But after a few moments had gone by and his eye did not catch any movements other than the natural roll of the waves, it slightly dimmed down.

Nonetheless, Sehun grabbed his trusty fishing pole from its usual spot on the wooden bench that ran the entire length of one side of the ship and attached a little piece of bread he’d found in the pockets of his breeches to the little hook at the end of the pole.

Sehun flung his line somewhere into the ocean, watching as the hook flew in with a silent PLOP. God, his afternoon was going slower than molasses-

**_SPLASH_ _!_ **

Sehun’s line was suddenly jerked forward, the pole nearly yanked straight out of his lax hands before he was scrambling to gain back his grip on the handle. The bail was whipping around and around at a speed faster than Sehun was able to regain control over. What the hell was on his line?

Sweat suddenly beaded his forehead again and excitement was bubbling underneath his skin as Sehun’s eyes searched the wild waters for whatever beast had the misfortune of coming across Mighty Kingfisher Oh Sehun’s line.

(the name sounded way better in his head).

Perhaps it was the blinding reflection of the sun on the rippling waters, or Sehun’s own heat stroke delirium catching up with him, but he could have sworn he saw an arc of an elegant, whispy, brightly- colored tail fin emerging into the air and back into the water.

Don’t tell him _that_ was what was on his line… was it?

And then suddenly his line went slack, which gave Sehun’s palms a moment of respite from all the pulling he’d been doing. His break was short- lived however, when the line went tense again, and something emerged from the water.

Sehun desperately reeled in his line, although it was a struggle inch- by- inch. However, his excitement of bringing back some beautiful, monster fish or bizarre sea creature turned more into confusion and incredulity.

His eyes followed the tense line to the hook, which was embedded in the most beautifully colored scales of a tail, glistening with water and nearly sparkling from the light bouncing off as it came into the air. Sehun’s piercing eyes followed those rainbow scales up a strong, muscles tail, dispersing and slimming down to a narrow torso, up a smooth and white span of skin-

Wait… skin??

Sehun’s eyes went wider than saucers and he was almost tempted to release his line, fish his hook out of the water. After all, how could he ensnare and maim a...a…

Human? Fish? Seriously, what the hell was that thing?

There was too much splashing for Sehun to see clearly anymore, but was that a flash of smooth skin he saw flailing around beneath the waters? Was he… supposed to save the person drowning?

“Um…hello? _AY YOU GUYS_!” Sehun hollered over his shoulder, hoping someone would wake the hell up and give him a hand already.

And then he looked back at the raging tides and saw a face, a beautiful, pale face with soft, effeminate features, like a button nose and large doe- eyes. Eyes that were currently filled with panic; wet, white locks of hair looking chaotically refined as the creature thrashed about in the water, skinny arms attempting to wrestle something out of its beautiful, glittering tail.

Sehun watched, slightly dumbfounded, fishing pole just barely kept within his grasp. After all, it wasn’t everyday that one bore witness to a real, live, living…

Mermaid?

_No, no, merman_ , Sehun silently corrected himself when he saw that span of flat chest. His heart was beating faster than a hummingbird’s, and his mind was racing one thousand and one ways. What if he was looking at a real legend, here? There was no telling what kind of fortunes he could harvest from this single discovery…

And he could say it was the prospect of future millions that propelled him to do what he did next, but in reality, he truly had no idea what he was thinking when he was pulling his loose shirt off by the back of the color and quickly standing barefooted on the railing of the ship.

Then he jumped off.

Sehun barely caught the shout of someone behind him, but his head had already hit the cold, churning waters that temporarily rendered him senseless. In the next second, his legs were kicking, arms angled together like an arrow, and he forced himself to open his eyes to the beautiful carnage that lay underwater.

Right in front of his eyes, the creature was struggling to de- attach what Sehun now recognized as his fishing line, wrapped around the strong torso, hook embedded deep into the scales.

Sehun internally cringed, but with a swift kick of his legs, he managed to reach the struggling creature. Of course, as soon as Sehun extended his hand toward the flipper, the pretty thing was bearing its dangerously sharp looking teeth at him, air bubbles escaping its mouth from what Sehun presumed to be growls.

He quickly withdrew his hands, holding them up as a sign that he’d come in peace. Could the creature even recognize he was human? After all… it did look half- human after all...

Sehun had to struggle a bit to kick every now and then to prevent himself from sinking, and doing everything underwater was starting to take a toll on his lungs and eyes, but he slowly reached for his line, his fingertips just barely brushing the slick surface of the creature’s tail. However, the slightest touch made the little water creature let out a piercing underwater shriek, and curl up, tail pulled close to its chest, its slender arms wrapped around it in a hug.

Sehun let out a precious pocket of air from his mouth in frustration, and quickly moved to grab the creature’s wrist (noting that he could fit its entire circumference within his hand), although his annoyed eyes softened when he saw big doe- eyes widen in fear and cute little mouth open in shock.

The human used his other hand to reach for the embedded hook, his mouth pressed into a thin line in attempt to hold onto the rapidly depleting oxygen in his lungs. Nimble fingers swiftly fished the barbed end from under a bundle of scales as cleanly as possible, but droplets of crimson still seeped out from the wound. Sehun let go of the wrist in order to unravel the line that was surrounding the tail, and gathered the hook and wire tightly in his fist.

Lungs on fire, eyes burning from the saltwater, Sehun made a mad dash for the surface.

Air, air, air, air… it was the only thing on his mind now that the creature was out of harm's way. But why did the surface seem so much farther away to him now? Perhaps the momentum from diving off the ship had actually carried him a lot farther into the waves than he had originally thought…

Oh well. Black spots were starting to dot his vision, so he supposed he was drowning. One arm weakly reached out in front of him, his legs starting to cramp up. By gods, his legs hurt. What was he even doing here in the first place?

_I_ …

A gentle pressure underneath both of Sehun’s arms pushed him up, vision becoming brighter and brighter until…

“Sehun! What the _HELL_ were you thinking?!” A rough voice barked from above and then there was the sound of something hitting the water.

The blond gasped for glorious, glorious air and greedily took it in, mouth spluttering like a fish out of water. His arms flailed around, trying to regain his bearings before seeing a red and white lifesaver nearby and grabbing onto it like his life depended on it. Which is sort of did. So he threw his arms around the tube and let himself be dragged out of the cold waters and back onto the ship like a ragged cat.

There was a thin blanket thrown over his bare shoulders, and then he was being ushered into a small alcove on deck, near the masts, where he caught sight of Yixing bringing over a mug of something steaming, the Captain glaring sternly with his arms crossed, and Baekhyun trying (and failing) to suppress a humorous grin on his face. Sehun shot him a dirty look, which only made Baekhyun smile wider

A throat cleared from his left and Sehun raised his head, hair still sopping wet and dripping on the deck.

“Ming explaining yourself, Oh Sehun?” the Captain asked in a not- very- rhetorical way at all.

Now Sehun was only about four or so years younger than the Captain, who was only twenty six himself, but there was an edgy, carnal element about the Captain that made everyone on ship respect and acknowledge him as their captain. Even Baekhyun and Chanyeol, who were some of the most obnoxious and rambunctious people Sehun had ever had the displeasure of knowing, had no problem obeying orders.

There, sitting under the Captain’s scrutiny like a pest under a glass, Sehun bore the entire intensity of his Captain’s glare. How could he not fidget and avert his eyes like a small babe? The man was tall, tanned from years upon years of being out at sea, and usually wore an unimpressed look on his smooth and deceivingly youthful face, save for a single scar that ran underneath one side of his jaw.

“I… I can’t,” Sehun realized suddenly, with his hands wrapped around a warm jug of apple cider, eyebrows furrowed together.

The Captain arched an eyebrow. “You can’t explain yourself?”

“I was fishing and then… I thought I saw a- a-” Sehun blinked as his words jumbled up. The urge to hide his little underwater discovery suddenly came up, which was bizarre. Sehun had never had the urge or need to hide anything from his Captain. “I thought I saw a marlin. A real big one,” he finished lamely.

His Captain stared in disbelief for a few moments. Had this boy really jettisoned himself for a mere _marlin_? Marlin were hard to come by but…

“A marlin? You must be joking. You don’t mean to tell me you threw yourself overboard, made a complete fool out of yourself, and made me personally come out to tell you off- all for a marlin? You-” the Captain let out a bark of a laugh and raised a hand, making Sehun flinch as he prepared for a well- deserved blow across the face or head, but instead received firm claps on the back.

“Captain Kai?” Yixing wondered aloud as the man chuckled to himself.

The man fixed his tricorne hat, mouth still curved in a grin. The only sounds were his footfalls as he left the alcove and headed in the direction of the captain’s quarters.

Sehun swallowed hard and took a few sips of the apple cider. His legs were still tense after his little romp in the cold water, but were starting to warm up already. He glanced aside as Baekhyun sat down heavily, wrapping an arm around his broad shoulders in good fun.

“You’re pretty stupid, ain’t cha?” Baekhyun said jovially, grinning like mad when he bounded back up and left just Sehun and Yixing.

“A marlin?” Yixing said quizzically, disbelief polluting his tone. Sehun shrugged tiredly. He didn’t really feel like explaining himself.

After all, how could he, when he himself didn’t even know what had lulled him to the aid of that flailing creature? That creature, that wasn’t so much a creature as it was half- human, half- fish, perhaps. It had been full of pure beauty, something magical and unworldly and Sehun had never in his life seen anything quite like it.

It was his own little discovery, and he didn’t quite feel like sharing it with the other rowdy mates of the Black Pearl. Sehun could almost _taste_ the glory, gold, and fame he would relish in if he could manage to bring in a catch like _that_. His whole life’s aspirations, wrapped up and summarized in an ethereal, mythical creature like the one he’d rescued.

He’d behaved impulsively this time. His body had moved without reaction to what it was doing, but next time he and the water nymph crossed paths, it would surely be Sehun who would be bringing the other with him.

 

* * *

 

Just as Kai had predicted, it took the Black Pearl approximately two weeks to reach the port of Exotica. The sunny, southern land of Exotica was tropical and the market squares were always bustling with merchants selling goods and townspeople bargaining and whatnot. It made it easy for the Black Pearl’s crew to slip into the town without much commotion and swipe an ornate necklace set full of precious gems and jewels from off a merchant’s table, or a small bag of coins hanging carelessly out of an ignorant buyer’s breeches.

Although it wasn’t as if the Black Pearl members were a bunch of lowly _thieves_. Sehun preferred the term “glorified swindlers” because at least that way they sounded like there was a science that went behind their robs.

Kai was leading the gang, weaving in and out of the chaotic crowds of the market. He munched happily on an apple, one thumb hooked on a belt loop of his breeches, white shirt left unbuttoned and open due to the unbearable heat and overall looking nothing like the dangerous pirate he was. Behind him, Chanyeol and Baekhyun were squabbling over who had collected (or translation: stolen) more goods of worth from vendors. Yixing had wandered off when a certain booth chock full of exotic medicinal herbs and powders had enticed him and his coin purse, and Minseok was lingering a bit further back, occasionally stopping by random vendors merely out of curiosity.

Sehun remained the farthest from the group. The Black Pearl only stopped every month or so, and it usually wasn’t for much longer than two days; three, if Baekhyun felt attached to the place and was being particularly difficult. So the time Sehun had to explore the riches and wonders Exotica had to offer was quite limited.

An old man with leathery, tanned skin was leisurely fanning himself with a fan of sorts, fashioned from grass reeds. He raised his head, tipping his straw hat back when he saw Sehun approach his little booth.

The young man pointed to the goods spread out in front of the elder. “How much?”

The old man chewed on his words for a moment before coming to a price. “I’ll give ya that pretty blue one fo’ thirty gold coins.”

Sehun nearly choked on his spit. _Thirty gold coins_? He wasn’t exactly like Baekhyun or Chanyeol, who had recently taken to pick pocketing and stealing from merchants. He generally forked over money when he felt it was unnecessary to steal and whenever he did, Kai always scolded him and called him too weak, but it always did somehow make his conscience a bit lighter. Or at least whatever conscience he had left.

His slender fingers lightly trace the elegant necklace, which starkly stood out against the dirty white cloth it was laid against. The accessory was slender and delicate: fashioned in a web- like design with dark sapphire gems linked together, tiny, sparkling diamonds and multicolored gems in between. Sehun wasn’t one so feminine or flamboyant to wear something so flashy (maybe Baekhyun, but not him), but there was something uniquely special about the necklace. Maybe he’d pocket it and one day give it to the person he wanted to wake up next to everyday.

Then Sehun chuckled, because that thought was just absolutely hilarious. He was still a strapping, young, man. What the hell was he doing thinking about things like _commitment_ already?

“Thirty? Fine, old man, take it,” Sehun scoffed and grabbed a handful of gold pieces from the pouch tucked into his waistband, slapping it down on the table, not bothering to count if it had been the right amount. Sehun barely ever bought anything, anyways. He had more than enough coins to spend- not that he liked wasting money, of course. He was still a pirate, wasn’t he?

The blond swiped the shining necklace from the rickety table and held it up to the sky, stretched between his pointer fingers and thumbs. He angled it this way and that, admiring the way the dark- colored sapphires gleamed like the night sky, and how the lighter colored gems in between caught the light and sparkled intensely. It was pretty, simply put.

He pocketed the necklace, keeping one hand in the same pocket as insurance if anyone were foolish enough to try and pickpocket from him .

The day was still young and Kai had said they could do anything they wanted, so long as they kept their noses out of trouble. The captain had left the bunch in the merchant's square, saying he needed to attend to some business with some dealers in Exotica before they could leave, which would likely be the next day or day after the next.

Translation: a night of roughhousing and drinking was to ensue.

* * *

 

“Anotha one!” Sehun gasped for air before he slammed his empty tankard down on the grimy wooden table. The bartender currently wiping down a glass container crooked an eyebrow and gave him a funny look, but still set down the glass and reached over the counter to fill up Sehun’s cup again.

The blond sighed contently and leaned back in his seat, arm dangling over the back of the wooden seat. He, Baekhyun, Chanyeol, and Minseok had all headed to The Lucky One when the sun started to dip down and the moon had begun to rise. Apparently, it was a pretty popular pub, if the crowded mass of people inside was any indication. Of course, when Sehun had started running out of fingers to count the number of drinks he’d had, his three companions had also found themselves scarce. Minseok said he was not “in the mood to babysit the four of you,” and had promptly wandered off somewhere; most likely an inn to reside in for the night.

The sound of the arrival of a full tankard brought Sehun back from his thoughts, and he eagerly threw down three silver coins sloppily as he brought the brim of the tankard to his lips.

He drank messily, the bitter beer sloshing over the sides and staining the color of his plain white button up shirt. Not that he cared. The shirt was left halfway unbuttoned, the sleeves rolled up hastily, a plethora of different colors already staining them.

Sehun’s mind felt swimmingly blurry. The cheering and rowdy noises in the pub was starting to mesh into one, constant buzzing sound. The table over, an old fisherman was telling some crazy story about a tailed beauty that lurked the oceans and lured sailors their death with a poisonous song. There was the sound of some kind of fiddle playing somewhere in the dingy room, but Sehun was too wasted out of his mind to even begin to point out where the music came from.

He stood up suddenly, chair scraping back with a screech that was lost in the noise. He planted both hands ontop the table, palms flat against the surface as he breathed heavily, trying to regain his balance and stand without toppling over and face planting in the grimy floor.

A light touch on his right upper arm made him look up. A woman with a slender face and large, almond- shaped eyes was grinning at him, her smile wide and revealing her set of pearly whites.

“Having some problems there, buddy?” She teased playfully, one hand kept on his bicep and the other going to rest on top one of his hands on the table. She was scantily dressed, the tight corset showing off a needle- thin waist with the top button of her blouse unbuttoned, her breasts threatening to spill out.

Not that Sehun minded. Men, women, as long as they had a pretty face and knew what to do with certain parts of the body, he was game.

Sehun smiled drunkenly, his hands suddenly latching onto the front of the woman’s skirt as he fell to his knees. She chuckled, hands coming over to smooth over the material over Sehun’s shoulders.

“What’s your name? I’m Taeyeon,” she purred, still smiling that big, wide smile. “What do ya say you and me go and find a- UGH DISGUSTING!” She screeched, hands pushing at Sehun’s broad shoulders.

It had happened so suddenly; Sehun couldn’t help it. The numerous beers he’d guzzled down were finally taking their toll and he’d been unable to stop them from coming back up his throat as he emptied the contents of his stomach onto the front of Taeyeon’s dress.

Sehun wiped his mouth with the back of the hand, mumbled a sorry, and stumbled his way toward the entrance of the pub, leaving a hysterical woman in the chaos behind him .

The cool air of the night was a welcome change from the heat desert that had been the day. At night, there was still the occasional vendor standing outside a pub, beggar rattling a can of coins at passersby, but it was considerably quieter compared to the daytime.

Sehun’s legs were wobbly, but somehow he managed to stumble down the rickety cobblestone road winding down from the pub and leading to the harbor. He must have seemed like a mess, clothes a mess, clearly drunk, hair mussed from running his hands through it constantly.

There was practically no one at the dock as Sehun breathed in the familiar scent of salt water. The moon was out. It was curved, in a crescent shape.

Sehun stared up at it with an impassive face. He was still breathing heavily, and wasn’t quite sure what he was even doing out here.

Yeah, what was he doing? He needed to get back to the pub, or the inn Kai had told everyone to meet at…

“Yah...I’m not- I am just,” Sehun slurred his words to no one in particular, almost tripping over his feet as he walked forward to sit down by the edge of the dock. The sound of waves crashing incessantly almost sobered him up, and he let himself throw his feet over the edge, the water coming just above his ankles. Cold water immediately pooled into his leather boots, but he was too screwed in the head to care much at the moment.

Sehun leaned back onto his hands as he stared out into the endless horizon. It was almost too dark to see anything, but the moonlight just barely lit the outlines of waves. The ocean was ominously dark, still, and reminded Sehun of the pretty thing he’d bought earlier in the day.

He hummed to himself, smiling like a fool at nothing in particular when he thought about his earlier purchase. It was a miracle he could even string together thoughts given the state he was currently in.

“Beautiful,” Sehun mumbled as he stared through half- lidded eyes at the water.

Suddenly, a little bulge appeared from under the water’s surface.

Sehun didn’t exactly register it at first. In fact, he near almost fell asleep had the thing in the water not further emerged from the murky waters.

Sehun’s eyes fully opened as he stared back into a set of eyes too dark to make out the color.

It stared back.

Sehun leaned forward, eyes as wide as saucers.

It submerged itself back into the water until just its nose and above were showing.

“You’re the…” Sehun whispered unbelievably.

It was the creature he’d seen fifteen days ago whilst in the middle of somewhere in the Black Sea. How could it have followed the Black Pearl all the way here? This was crazy, absolutely mind- boggling, no way-

“Hey, what kind of creature is this, huh?” Sehun asked loudly. There was no one else there with him, but his hazy mind couldn’t quite wrap around the fact that the thing staring back at him was undeniably the same doe- eyes, button- nosed sea creature he’d already had the pleasure of meeting.

As if answering his question, the creature emerged out of water until its entire torso was exposed in the air. Sehun scrambled back on his hands as it reached up to rest its upper body on the dock. Its dark eyes were wide with curiosity, wet lips slightly parted in awe.

It was like the inevitable clash of two worlds. One which was confined to the land, and the other that was bound to the waves of the ocean. But, with the moon there tonight as their witness, the two were learning more about the other than their respective worlds could ever begin to teach them.

Trembling, dry fingertips brushed against cold, wet ones and both immediately drew back from the touch.

Sehun’s eyebrows were furrowed together in amazement as he noted the slight webbing between the fingers of the creature. And he supposed he ought to stop referring to his little discovery as a _creature_. When it was clearly a...a… _merman_?

Sehun pressed his lips into a thin line as he intensely studied the facial features of the little water nymph. Or merman. Or whatever it wanted to be referred as. Sehun wasn’t exactly a world- class marine biologist, so he really had no way of categorizing the miracle currently bobbing in the water in front of him. He wasn’t even sure anyone had ever encountered something like it before. If he was the first to do so, did that mean he got to name it?

“Hi…” the tiniest, most fragile sound came from between the little creature’s petal lips. Between the constant buzzing sound in Sehun’s ears and the loud crashes of the ocean’s waves, Sehun had barely even caught the word. But he did, and his eye grew even larger, if at all possible.

The thing suddenly giggled, but the sound was more like warbled bubbly pops rather than any humanoid laugh Sehun had ever heard. It was almost… cute.

“Hi,” Sehun replied back dumbly, not quite sure what to do. Could it… speak his language?

“Can you,” Sehun swallowed hard, his tongue feeling like a cinder block, “understand?”

There was a silence from the other creature, and then a slow reply.

“I,” its delicate lips trembled slightly and Sehun’s eyes drank up the way its bottom lip was caught between its slightly pointed teeth, “I… am Lu. Han.”

“Lu...han? You are a Luhan?” Sehun said in wonder, mouth in a, “o” shape like a small child. The water creature let out its little bubble laugh again, and Sehun felt the corners of his mouth quirk up.

“No. I,” it placed a webbed hand over its flat chest, “Luhan.”

A small fizz of connection in Sehun’s buzzed mind sparked his cogs again and he let out a long sound of understanding.

“I see. Luhan,” Sehun repeated the name to himself, not quite managing to get the same watery, exotic- sounding pronunciation _Luhan_  had said it with, but appreciating how adorable it sounded. “I am Sehun. Se- hun.” He said slowly, letting his name roll off his tongue in emphasis, eyeing the way Luhan silently mimicked the human.

“Sehun…” Luhan’s big bright eyes closed a fraction of an inch as the water creature tested the foreign name on his tongue.

It was almost like watching a baby take its first steps. Sehun watched with bizarre fascination as Luhan repeated Sehun’s name over and over, quietly to himself, like a mantra. The wild- haired creature (Sehun assumed he should stop mentally referring to it as a _creature_ when _he_ clearly had a name and was more than capable of intelligent thought) almost seemed embarrassed when he caught Sehun staring intensely at him, and shrunk back into the water until it reached his little button nose, eyes peering dolefully at the other.

Sehun laughed lazily, head lopping around side to side as he peered closer at Luhan.

“You’re a m- merman, aren’t cha?” His murmured words were slightly slurred and his eyelids were growing from all the alcohol he’d consumed that night, but his fingers were more than confident when they suddenly crept forward to gently stroke Luhan’s slender fingers clutching at the dock’s edge, the digits joined by a thin membrane of webbing.

Luhan let out a noise of surprise and almost jerked his hand back, but when the shaking thing realized the human had no ill intentions, he allowed the other to tenderly explore the back of his hand.

What managed to break the eerily calm moment was Luhan taking note of one of the many wristbands Sehun adorned on his wrist. The merman had suddenly pulled himself back out of the waters, his upper body laying flat on the docks as Sehun jumped nearly a foot in the air when the other pulled over his arm to admire the rusted silver beads wrapped around a particular bracelet.

The little water nymph fingers the shiny spheres in wonder, thin eyebrow knit together in adoration and longing. Sehun ran his tongue over his dry lips, and even in his drunken state, could put two and two together.

“Hey… hey, do you like it?” Sehun asked quietly and slowly, as if talking to a small child. Luhan jerked his head up, as if suddenly realizing Sehun was there too. He looked from Sehun’s face to his arm, still cradled within his delicate arms, and back again before pulling away, keeping his arms close to his chest. He was shaking, his little head jerking back and forth as if scared.

Sensing his precious time with the ethereal beauty was slipping away, Sehun scrambled to his knees and offered both his hands, palms up.

“Hey no, look, here you can have it if you want,” he said hurriedly, yanking off the silver- beaded bracelet Luhan had been eyeing earlier, the break made easy due to the worn out state of the string connecting the beads. Sehun clutched the string of beads with one hand and held it out to Luhan, who meekly accepted it with the tips of his little fingers.

He looked at it for a second before clutching it close to his collarbones, peeking back up at Sehun with the smallest, yet most heartwarming, little smile. The man didn’t know why, but seeing that angelic feature grace Luhan’s face made his heart beat a little faster, his mouth a bit drier. It was almost as if it urged him to give up everything he had and worked for for this little water nymph in front of him.

“B- bye, Sehun,” Luhan suddenly spoke out of nowhere, almost shyly waggling his fingers at the human as he drifted farther and farther away from the other.

Pulled out of his momentarily dazed stupor, Sehun blinked once, then twice, then quickly got up to his feet and stepped as close to the edge of the dock as was physically possible. He didn’t want the other to leave! He had wanted to talk a little more, gotten to known about the other’s species more.

“Wait! I have,” Sehun felt his pockets as if searching for something, anything, to keep the other on the line. Not literally.

His knuckles brushed against something bumpy and cold in his pocket, and he drew out the sapphire necklace he’d purchased earlier in the market square. Sehun stared at it with parted lips before looking at the merman, who’d stopped drifting away and was once again captivated.

“Here,” the blond offered willingly, waiting patiently as Luhan came to his call like a cat to milk. The human waited until the merman was nearly out of the water again, one hand already reaching for the shiny jewelry as if it were hypnotized. Sehun smiled with undisguised entertainment and he gently pushed Luhan’s slender arm away, taking the two ends of the necklace and leaning over the dock’s edge to join them behind Luhan’s slender neck.

Sehun stood back, brushing off his knees and admiring his handiwork. The merman seemed equally as stunned, webbed fingers lightly skimming over the necklace that cascaded over his delicate collarbones, tapering down to a point with a single sapphire.

It was a little difficult for Sehun to clearly make out the merman’s features in the dimly illuminated night, but he heard a watery chortle of...happiness? Before there was a small splash and the magical being was gone from his view.

Sehun brought his hands behind his head and linked them together as he stared into the shimmering water. Luhan was nowhere to be found and gone was his necklace he’d wasted so much money on.

No, not wasted, Sehun said. _He_ was wasted, yes, but seeing as the silly piece of jewelry had made Luhan a stupid amount of happy, he couldn’t bring himself to call his purchase wasteful.

The tall man smacked his lips together, mind not quite caught up with everything that had transpired just now. He just communicated with, interacted with, and (dare he say?) enjoyed time with a mermaid. A _merman_.

And that was when Sehun’s eyes fluttered shut, and he fell backwards like a log from right where he stood.

* * *

 

Ever since Luhan was a little minnow, he’d been ushered from place to place, lesson to lesson. There seemed to always be something to do, and yet at the same time, absolutely nothing, as well. It was his earliest memories; little guppy Luhan who had just started showing signs of coloring in his tail scales, and no one to chatter excitedly to other than his personal servant, Kyungsoo.

Then there was little Luhan, soaking in the sun’s rays on top the flat surface of a slab of rock. It was his second- to- most favorite pastime- taking naps. He loved it when starfish crawled on over and latched onto him, most sea creature being naturally attracted to his presence in the sea. Even if their little suction cups usually left tiny circular marks on his skin, he adored the little marks because at least it showed that someone was willing to spend a little time with it. Luhan found them quite cute (although his royal etiquette instructor definitely did not).

Ah, it was perhaps the loneliest thing in the world to be birthed into merpeople royalty, Luhan oftentimes thought. Of course he loved his mother and father, the queen and king, dearly, and the palace was never completely quiet on account of his seven older brothers and sisters. But even though he was the baby of the family, the littlest pearl in this treasure chest, Luhan always yearned to mean _extra_ special to someone. Perhaps his royal upbringing was to blame for this slightly selfish desire, but he was so used to being hushed up, his opinions and comments pushed aside due to him being the youngest and therefore the “least educated” one of the royal bunch.

It didn’t help that Luhan was more soft- spoken than the rest of his siblings. He didn’t care that he had zero chance of getting the crown. He was more into the rare fisherman’s hook he’d find discarded on the seafloor, or the collection of glittery, multi- colored stones he had stashed away in his room, along with the rest of his knick- knack collection.

So he couldn’t really be blamed when he had reached of age and decided he was old enough. Old enough to do exactly what his parents and everyone around him had forbid him to do and slipped out the palace doors after curfew was announced and everyone was asleep. For several moons he would sneak out, sometimes bringing Kyungsoo along with him, the only other person who was aware of his nightly excursions, and he would swim miles just to peek behind a rock and catch a glimpse of humans bustling about the docks.

It was an unspoken rule that the world above was off- limits to any and all, and that included the royal family. Unspoken, because humans were dangerous and warred against one another, and committed terrible crimes, and it was much better and safer just to stay under the sea where they couldn’t be harmed.

Luhan didn’t really believe everything he was taught though. Despite his history instructor always smacking him upside the head when he suggested the idea of _some_ humans being kind, he’d always firmly believed that there was no way the human world was as atrocious and awful as everyone made it out to be. After all, not all sea people were absolute saints, were they? So couldn’t the same be said for humans?

The first time he’d sneaked out was a real culture shock. Everything above water looked a little off; the colors a little brighter than what he was used to, the sounds a little sharper. It was because he was conditioned to the deep depths of the sea, where everything was a little quieter, and darker. But he didn’t mind. He didn’t even mind when his eyes started to sting a little from lack of water, or when the little gills behind his ear started throbbing from being exposed to the air for too long.

It was a lot more fun when he went alone, without Kyungsoo, because the other merman would always badger him incessantly, worriedly wringing his hands and looking about in fear of someone finding them out. When he was alone, Luhan could stay as long as he wanted, refreshing himself underwater every so often before coming back up and perching on a rock to watch the humans like his favorite play.

He so wished to have a taste of human life. All the sea people of his kingdom were the same. Everything was according to hierarchy and as such, everyone always loved to kiss Luhan’s tail. No one was genuine (except for maybe Kyungsoo, as uptight and meticulous as he was).

But, ah, from what Luhan could see, humans possessed a wonderfully wide array of emotions. He could see two humans positioned rather close to each other, with their arms intertwined rather possessively, and oftentimes, he saw males entering a certain place at night and coming out with a woman. It was a bit hard to hear from the distance Luhan was at, but they usually sounded rather happy, all loud laughing and chattery human speaking.

Of course that’s all it ever was. Luhan watching from a distance and longing, always longing, to be part of that magically foreign and shimmery and colorful world that was so far away.

Although Luhan never really imagined he’d be getting a first- person encounter with a human when one had so thoughtlessly cast a line through the water, piercing into Luhan’s delicate tail. And that line hadn’t just hooked him physically, no. It’d brought him so much closer to the world he’d glimpsed at from behind a rock for several moons.

Whether or not he’d survive the experience was to be determined.

 

* * *

 

Sehun had always been absolute shit at holding his liquor. He was capable of about two tankards of beer, after which, he shouldn’t be held accountable for his actions.

Clearly, last night he’d had a lot more than just two mugs of beer because somehow when he came to the next morning with a throbbing headache, he found himself sprawled on the dock, a seagull calmly perched atop his foot.

Groaning, the blond pulled himself off the ground, rubbing out the crick in his neck. There was a funny taste in his mouth too, not unlike a mixture of seawater and too much alcohol. It would explain why his head felt like it was being split in half by a blacksmith’s anvil. His temple ached terribly, and he had no doubt his eyes were bloodshot and hair a mess.

What was he even doing out on the docks anyways? From the looks of the barely- there pastel pinks and blues streaking the sky, the sun had not even risen yet. Sehun assumed he’d drunk himself into a stupor the previous night and decided a cold night out on the wooden dock was much more preferable to a comfy mattress in a proper inn.

Sehun sighed heavily and dragged a heavy hand over his face in attempt to wake himself up. He wasn’t sure if he was supposed to head over to the inn the rest of the Black Pearl crew members were at, or if he should just climb back aboard the Black Pearl itself and tuck himself away in the bunks.

Then he thought about how the Black Pearl was currently resting at the docks and just the thought of rocky, moving ocean waves made him nauseous. No, he’d taken his chances at finding the inn instead.

Sehun got up to his feet with great difficulty. Walking proved even more so. Last night truly was a blur. He could barely even remember who he’d gone to the pub with, much less leaving it. Although the more his mind tried pulling away at the fog clouding his mind, the more he recalled something dark blue… glittering in the night… and… big eyes?

He shook his head and then winced when his head throbbed particularly hard. Ah, it would be a shame if he’d taken an exceptionally good- looking partner to bed last night and couldn’t even remember the details. But then, of course, Sehun doubted he’d been able to walk away from such an encounter and end up on the docks.

Sehun couldn’t even remember which hostel is was that Kai had told them all to stay the night in. He was pretty sure he wouldn’t catch trouble for drinking himself silly, but then again, with Captain Kai it was always hard to tell what that man would or wouldn’t do.

So it was to Sehun’s complete surprise to see that very man up and strolling down the cobblestone street Sehun had been stumbling along as well.

The captain stopped in his track once he reached Sehun, surprise painting his tanned features as well.

“Sehun? What are you doing up’n about so early?” Kai asked, cocking his head to one side, “The boys and I didn’t see you coming into the hostel we all agreed on.”

The blond groaned and rubbed his eyes tiredly. His hangover was killer but at least he wasn’t currently on the receiving end of a lengthy scolding from his captain.

“I… may have had a little too much to drink last night,” Sehun admitted somewhat bashfully. He was sure to be teased by the others for not being able to hold his alcohol. Especially since he was often the one challenging others to drinking contests.

Kai threw his head back and let out a hearty laugh that, to Sehun, sounded more like pots banging right next to his ear. The older man clapped the younger on the back, and that was when Sehun spotted the ropes slung over his captain’s shoulder, a fishing net in his left hand.

“Well, frankly, I’m glad I ran into you Sehun,” Kai said, smirking. “You were probably drunk beyond comprehension last night, but there’s a little legend here in Exotica that the townspeople like to tell.”

Sehun was not really listening as he trudged alongside his captain. Or, more like he was trying to recall last night’s events as he allowed himself to be guided by the strong arm slung across his shoulders.

Then something suddenly occurred to him that gave Sehun a little jolt. As his captain rambled on, Sehun felt the pockets of his breeches, turning them inside out to find naught. His heart plummeted and he bit his lip frustratedly, hands clenching into fists.

Where the hell was the pretty piece of jewelry he’d paid an arm and a leg for? Sehun cursed himself a thousand times over in his head, praying to the gods that he hadn’t whimsically handed it over to the first pretty lady he’d seen.

“-so there we have it. We’re going fishing,” Kai finished, dragging Sehun out of his head.

“Huh?” He said stupidly, blinking.

Luckily Kai either found his highly intelligent response funny, or he was in a particularly good mood, because he laughed and shook his head.

“Were you not listening to a thing I said this entire time? It’s hardly even dawn, and the waters are calm. According to what the townspeople say, this is the best time to catch them, and I’ll be damned if the captain of the Black Pearl can’t do what others have failed to,” Kai said pompously as the two men stepped out onto the wooden planks of the dock.

Sehun was still quite angry about misplacing his little treasure and so he almost didn’t catch one last bit Kai said. But when the words finally registered in his slowly turning mind, they made his teeth chatter and his blood run cold in his veins.

It wasn’t very clear, but he could remember glimpses of a beautiful, shimmery tail. Milky smooth collarbones, and delicate, webbed hands. Fingers that swept across a sapphire necklace, given willingly by its owner.

Sehun cursed his life and the lives he’d had before this one. He really couldn’t catch a break, ever, could he? Here, his captain, was telling him they were going fishing. But it wasn’t really fishing. Not when their prey had the upper body of a human. Sehun felt like he was going to be sick.

“We’re hunting mermaids.”


	2. I'll Drown Without You

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am.... so sorry for this mess. I don't really plan my stories out, but rather, just let my mind wander and type whatever comes to mind but this is truly... a train wreck and I will probably, more than likely, edit it a ton or maybe even write an alternative ending. Sorry if you were expecting some quality, thought- out, plot...maybe if you listen to kokobop while reading it, it'll sound better! (can we talk about the eve choreo?  
>  No? ok) Enjoy?

I’ll Drown Without You 

 

It was quite late at night when Luhan finally slipped behind the beautiful, ornate set of double doors of his bedroom entrance. He had figured out years ago, when he was still a little guppy sneaking out to the kitchens for midnight snacks, that his room was positioned at one of the highest points in the palace. The curved architecture and bountiful underwater plants that wrapped around the castle walls and bloomed in crevices were particularly helpful in providing a cover for those who wanted to leave the palace walls undetected. Luckily, Luhan had realized he could quietly open his room window, so as not to notify the palace guard stationed outside his room, after which he would quickly slip out, keeping close to the walls and his tail movements to a minimum.

He’d turned of merpeople age about seven moons ago, and as of yet, he hadn’t been caught once. The first time he’d stolen out into the night, he’d felt a great rush of adrenaline that was unlike anything he’d ever experienced in his short little life so far. Then again, Luhan had never been a rebellious guppy. He had a little bit of a mouth sometimes, but hadn’t done anything much more eyebrow- raising than fall asleep during a royal etiquette class or two.

And once Luhan had begun his nightly excursions, it wasn’t long before he learned how to speak a few human words as well- courtesy of his close, if not slightly troublesome, friend Jongdae. And how  _ Jongdae  _ had learned them, Luhan hadn’t the slightest clue nor care, seeing as he’d all but forgot the extreme taboo of the language when Jongdae taught him how to greet and introduce himself in the human language. English, Jongdae had called it. 

No one besides Kyungsoo, not even Luhan’s family, had the slightest idea what the sea’s precious little pearl was doing- sneaking out to watch the humans and learning their accursed tongue. However, tonight was different. It seemed luck wasn’t on Luhan’s side this time.

His room was dark when he slipped in through the open window, the only signs of light coming from the pretty glittering of his little collection of colored rocks, glass, hooks, and other bizarre sea discoveries he’d found over the years, human and non- human alike. 

Luhan sighed contently, his hand ghosting over the delicate jewelry fastened around his neck. He hadn’t gotten a chance to look at it properly in a mirror, but he had no doubt it was beautiful. The look in that human’s,  _ his  _ human’s (his Sehun, more properly), eyes had said it all. It was the same look he saw his father give his mother sometimes, and the same one he saw his archery instructors give his much more talented older brothers when they hit a bulls-eye.

Adoration, awe, admiration. Just thinking about the way Sehun had stared at him like such a fool with his mouth hanging open…it made him much too flustered. Luhan didn’t even care that if word had gotten out that a human was making him feel more alive than any aquatic being had ever, he’d probably be confined to the palace and under key and lock the rest of his life. 

Luhan nestled himself in his little bed of seaweed and sponges. He stared up at the high ceiling of his room, barely even seeing the impressive mural of an underwater scene of the streets of Luhan’s homeplace. He was too busy replaying the scenes where he’d gotten to actually touch a real human. A real human! It was every bit as magical and amazing as Luhan had expected it to be, although he’d felt quite shy and scared in the beginning on account of always seeing horrible, nasty pictures of humans as depicted in his history lessons and scrolls. 

Luhan wasn’t prejudiced against humans, of course, but he still hadn’t known what to expect when meeting one face to face. And it was just his luck that the human that had been perched on the edge of the wooden dock had been the very same one that had cast the hook that had injured Luhan’s tail. Of course, it hadn’t hurt much once the hook was out and Kyungsoo had fixed the wound up for him (not without a lengthy scolding, however). So Luhan was very much willing to forgive him.

Sehun. It was a magical name. It was probably the most unique and charming and handsome name Luhan had ever heard. 

He sighed again, hands resting atop his chest, where one tenderly stroked the necklace laying flat, and the other clutched the silver beads Sehun had also gifted to him. Who said humans were selfish and greedy? From what Luhan could tell, all his encounters with Sehun had been nothing but enlightening, with the other always so willing to give.

“Have fun?” A low voice came from his bedroom door. Luhan jolted up in his bed, hand automatically coming up to cover his necklace, although it was too big, and his hand too small, to fully hide.

He’d recognize that voice anywhere. It was the same one that ordered him to study harder, focus more on his archery lessons, practice more on his etiquette. It was the voice of his father, King of Sanguidos, ruler of the sea. 

Probably the last person he wanted in his room at the moment.

Luhan let his tail curl up underneath him as he sat atop it, little webbed hands curled around strands of seaweed in feeble attempt to stop his quaking. The little water nymph pitifully tucked his lower lip between pointy teeth, large eyes staring concernedly at his father. 

While his father Yifan (or, King Triton, as he was often referred to in chatter among the currents) was generally a sensible and fair man, Luhan couldn’t make out any sort of kindness reflected upon his face, on account of the dim lighting as well as his face set passively, void of emotion. 

Luhan released his lower lip from between his teeth and attempted to speak, “Father, I-”

“You do understand how dangerous it is outside our kingdom, do you not?” Yifan said in a dangerously stony tone. Luhan had never been spoken to like this in his whole life. Not even when he was a guppy and cried everyday in refusal to attend lessons. The demeaning tone his father used made him feel small and inferior and want to curl up among the sea anemones and cry. 

Yifan suddenly swam closer, his powerful, dark green tail flickering from side to side every so often. A large hand came up by Luhan’s face and he flinched, anticipating a powerful strike to his cheek, but when none came, he saw with horror that his father’s attention was divided elsewhere.

The delicate chains and gems of Luhan’s necklace were currently under inspection beneath Yifan’s scrutinizing gaze and touch. His fingertips ghosted over the dark blue sapphires that glittered prettily against Luhan’s pale skin.

“And I am to assume this was a gift from a  _ human _ , hm?” He wondered aloud. Luhan couldn’t even speak. His lips were parted, but no words came out to defend himself. How could he? He’d practically been caught red- handed by his father. 

Suddenly, a harsh tug on Luhan’s beloved necklace made him cry out in pain, his body lurching forward slightly. His arms came up in a panic, in a desperate attempt to grab onto the pretty thing as his father cruelly held it out of reach, dark eyes examining it critically as he held it by one broken end.

“Oh father, no! How could you?” Luhan sobbed, his heart broken and words coming out in warbled, distraught sounds. He let out another cry when his eye caught sight of the sad way the beautiful accessory was snapped at one point, the delicate web- like design ruined. The small mermaid turned around and buried his head in his thin arms, wrapping his tail around him as closely as he could. The few starfish plastered against his walls seemed to sense his distress and inched closer, little appendages reaching out to comfort the weeping beauty. 

Yifan didn’t want to see his youngest son cry over a human’s creation anymore. It made him sick to his stomach thinking he had any relation to those barbarians. It was a good thing the new palace guard that had been positioned in front of Luhan’s door hadn’t known that the boy typically liked to be left alone, and had stuck his head inside to check on the young prince.

Of course, Yifan was the first to be notified when the guard realized Luhan wasn’t in his room. Or the kitchens. Or anywhere in the palace, for that matter. The king had just been making his way to the barracks to send out the royal guard and war squad when he’d spotted a glittering, wispy tail in the distance, making its way back to the palace without a care in the world. 

Yifan was furious, but like a good king, he didn’t let it show on his face. No, he’d deal with Luhan later.

“You are not to leave this room, Luhan. Your meals will be brought to your door and all excursions will be accompanied by both Kyungsoo and a guard. You’ve already proven you are not to be trusted on your own,” Yifan scolded, mouth pressed in a hard line as he tightened his hold on the broken piece of human jewelry. 

Luhan’s head of white hair popped up and he rubbed at the pale pinks tears that glistened on his cheeks. He was angry and frustrated at his father, but his heart also ached terribly and he was ashamed at his father’s words, knowing them to be true. 

“Y- you don’t understand anything, father! No one does! You’ve probably never even seen a real human before b- because then you would know that they’re not to be afraid of! I- I hate you! I-” Luhan burst into a fresh bout of tears again and buried his head as far as he could in his bed of seaweed. He didn’t want to see his father, because he knew he’d want to do nothing but scream at the man.

Yifan took Luhan’s harsh words with an unchanged look. The pup was still just that- young. Luhan just didn’t understand how cruel and unforgiving humans could be. He didn’t understand that not all humans had the same heart of gold he did. Just the fact that Luhan had gotten close enough to form his disillusioned ideas of humans was alarming to the king, but he let it all slide in favor of properly punishing the pup later.

“If that is all you have to say, I’ll leave you to reflect on your actions alone. Expect a proper punishment in due time,” Yifan said shortly and made his way out the room, silently gliding out the doors until the ends of his long green tail disappeared out of sight. 

Luhan’s eyes were still filled with tears the same shade as translucent pink jellyfish. They shone brightly out of the miserable mermaid’s eyes as he rested his chin on top of his crossed arms. Two starfish had made their way over and had plastered themselves on Luhan affectionately. One had an arm wrapped around one of Luhan’s pinkies while the other attached itself to his forearm, which normally would have Luhan blushing pink with glee from receiving so much attention, but now just made him want to cry more. 

He wished he hadn’t gone out tonight. That was it, really, because he wasn’t sorry for anything else. If he hadn’t been caught by that stupid guard, then he would still be able to go and watch the human docks and listen to them chatter and laugh and maybe even meet Sehun again and-

Luhan wrinkled his nose when he felt new tears spring to his eyes. He knew he was being childish throwing a fit like this, but he really had loved getting out of the palace. He loved going to new places and learning new things and no one in the entire palace had even known that fact about him. Couldn’t they see that there was no harm to him simply observing the humans? 

(Although he was glad he hadn’t let it slip to his father that he had actually interacted with Sehun, because he guaranteed his father would have smite him then and there)

However, it was his beautiful necklace that his heart ached and tears flowed most for, because it was so, so pretty and shiny and most of all, Sehun had given it to him, probably thinking he’d treasure it and keep it in good condition forever and ever. And look at what he’d let done to it. 

“Why am I so sad?” Luhan whispered somewhat rhetorically to the two little starfish, who were probably asleep, despite Luhan speaking to them. It was no different than talking to everyone else he knew, anyways. 

Luhan sniffed sadly. He was quite sensitive, the most reserved out of all the royal family, but this had been the one little secret that had filled him with joy. Meeting Sehun, talking to Sehun, it had all been so eye- opening. He felt bewitched, to put it simply.

Luhan rolled over to his side and stared at his hands in front of him. At least he still had the other bracelet Sehun had given him and that he had tied around his own wrist. The worn- out material felt rough under his fingertips and it wasn’t as sparkly and intricate as his other gift, but Luhan loved it all the same. Because it was his first gift from a human; proof that he’d really gotten to talk to a human, that Sehun had been real. 

His long eyelashes brushed against his soft cheeks as he blinked slowly. His half- lidded eyes took in the delicate webbing between his fingers as he stretched them out, noticing the slightly iridescent, ivory hue his skin took in the dark. He couldn’t help but remember Sehun’s hands, how big and tan and  _ dry  _ they had been. How much stronger they had looked compared to his own. 

They looked like hands that had traveled the world, felt a thousand different sands, experienced a world of different cultures that Luhan had never known even existed. 

Thinking about the worlds of difference in life experience that was between him and Sehun made him even more depressed. It was selfish to think, but Luhan wondered how it was that he was born into the most prestigious and powerful family, yet the thing he wanted most was unattainable. It seemed he’d drawn the short end of the stick for his lot in life. 

Luhan drew his hands close to his chest and sniffled again. The palace was dead silent, seeing as it was probably the early hours of the morning now, which left Luhan alone with his thoughts. 

He wanted to leave. He’d known every person in the palace his entire life, yet no one had made him feel more alive than Sehun during the short time they’d met. But without help, there was no way Luhan’s father would allow him to so much swim a tail length from his room.

The only way for him to leave would be… to do something crazy. Something absolutely crazy. And Kyungsoo would never agree to it, anyways.

Right?

Luhan bit his lower lip, little sharp teeth poking out in an almost adorable way as he thought hard. He wasn’t sure what to think, and maybe it was him  _ not  _ thinking at all that allowed him to hatch the slowly evolving plan in his mind. Luhan gingerly thumbed over his precious bracelet as he let his eyes close, pink tear tracks drying on his cheeks as he dreamed of tan skin and dry hands and mesmerizing brown eyes. 

 

* * *

 

“Ha… we’re… w- we’re hunting mermaids? Like,” Sehun swallowed hard and he blinked rapidly, “like actual… mermaids?” 

Kai gave him a blank look that contained all the answers Sehun needed to confirm his rather rhetorical question. However, he had to make sure his ears hadn’t been deceiving him. He needed to be absolutely sure. 

“But, Captain,” Sehun scrambled after the older man as the two of them boarded a small rowboat equipped with a few essentials. “Do you even know they exist? What if it’s all just a stupid kids tale?” He threw in a few shaky laughs for emphasis, although they probably sounded as fake as they did to him. 

Kai sighed and placed his hands on his hip, facing Sehun while the other stared down at the cerulean waters.

  
“Sehun, there are some things you learn when you get a bit older. One is, to never trust what anyone says. The other’s that nothing’s impossible until you see it with your own eyes. Do you get what I’m sayin’, boy?” Kai said, although he still really hadn’t answered Sehun’s worries. 

The blond nodded slowly, although he felt more like getting the hell off the small boat and back onto solid land. The gentle rocking of the waves did nothing to soothe his raging headache. 

Sehun bit the inside of his cheek and sat down heavily as Kai passed him a bundle of thick netting. Upon closer inspection, Sehun noticed little, sparkling, hooks at each joint of the netting. They were small, but Sehun still had to be careful they didn’t catch onto his skin or clothing. 

Kai loosened the rope tethering the boat to the dock and kicked them away with a strong push from his leg. 

“I’m sure whoever owns this boat won’t miss it for more than a few hours,” he said jovially, completely uncaring of whatever misfortunes might befall the owner of the boat. Although, Sehun wasn’t exactly a saint, either. He was currently too busy worrying they’d somehow come across the same little tailed beauty he’d met last night. 

Sehun wet his lips and looked down at the bizarre netting in his hands. Just thinking about the little curved hooks digging into delicate, milky- smooth skin unnerved him and gave him the urge to be violently sick. He tossed it to the side and sat quietly for a second, his forearms resting on his knees. 

Kai was looking out in the distance, the pastel colors of the early sky reflecting prettily on his slightly sweaty face. Sehun could see that there was intent in his eyes, a hunger for treasure in his bones, and the taste of a wild adventure on his tongue. He’d never been one to shy away from fights with other ships or the occasional clashing of the sword, but this… this somehow felt  _ wrong _ . 

He knew Captain Kai was a strong and capable and proud man. If the captain had heard of some allegedly unattainable sea beauty, then he was sure to get out and try his luck at it. It was just the kind of person he was. 

“Sehun,” the aforementioned man suddenly called out, “I need you to give a little try with this.” Kai handed him a thin, thin pipe, made out of what seemed to be some sort of white shell, and with only one hole for the mouthpiece. Sehun took it with a quizzical look, but did as he was told anyways, not quite seeing the harm in doing so. The bizarre instrument made a high pitched sound that wasn’t loud enough to hurt Sehun’s ears, but sounded like a whistling kettle and was more annoying than anything. Not to mention his head wasn’t currently in any state to be subjected to high- sounding whistles.

Kai took the whistle from Sehun and flipped it around in his hand before blowing on it himself.

“What’s that for?” Sehun asked, hands gripping the side of the boat as he peered over the edge, secretly keeping an eye out for any flashes of multi- colored scales, or pure, white hair. No reason, of course. Just in case. 

Kai smirked. “Bait, of course.”

Sehun’s heart plummeted. 

His dark- haired captain explained as he took a rag and polished his boots while he spoke. “The story goes that there are two ways to catch a mermaid. One is with one of these things here,” Kai gave a little toot on the thin pipe, “and the other is with something shiny. ‘Cause apparently those little monsters take a liking to ‘specially sparkly things.” Kai scoffed, and Sehun wanted to say _ I already know _ , but he bit his tongue in fear that doing so would just expose more to Kai’s greedy eye. 

“These are special little whistles that mimic the sound of a mermaid callin’ for help. The guy I borrowed this from said it’s supposed to attract one or two. Ain’t that a bit creepy?” Kai said with slightly humorous edge, although Sehun could barely even force himself to crack a smile and ignored the part where Kai basically admitted he’d swindled the whistle from its owner somehow.

He wasn’t even so sure why he was so concerned over this whole mermaids ordeal. Of course, the little tailed beauty he’d met last night (Luhan, he reminded himself fondly) had certainly made a lasting impression on the pirate, but it wasn’t as if they had known each other their whole lives. Sehun had known the little nymph all of what- twenty, twenty five minutes? 

_It had seemed so much longer,_ Sehun thought to himself. As he sulked to himself, toying with the frayed end of a rope, he thought about Luhan’s beautiful and uniquely shaped fingers. The merman had just been so… _pure and unearthly looking and_ _completely unlike anything_ Sehun had come across in all his years of roaming the seven seas. Luhan was like a refreshing breath, like coming up from the waters for air. His life had been nothing but misfortune and running from his problems and coming across Luhan was just… unexpected.

How ironic it would be if his capture would be partially from Sehun’s doing. 

And then the blond shook his head angrily, annoyed with himself that he would even think of letting his brain conjure up a thought like that. He was a pirate, not a murderer. Unlike Kai, who had done some pretty questionable things, or Baekhyun and Chanyeol who were the dynamic duo in swindling and didn’t hesitate to resort to knives when things got rather sticky, or even Minseok, who always seemed more than happy to pull the trigger of a pistol or light the end of a cannon. Sehun had always preferred talking his way out of things. That wasn’t to say his own sword was scotch- free of blood, because it wasn’t, but out of the Black Pearl’s motley crew, Sehun would like to think he was the one with the least violent tendencies, not including Yixing. 

Maybe it was because he had been taught from a young age to keep his nose out of trouble and be a diligent and respectable member of society that he was the way he was today. His slate wasn’t nearly clean enough to be called an upstanding member of society, but he wasn’t a total crook either. Or at least that’s what he would have liked to think. 

Sometimes he wondered what his folks would think of where he was now. Surely they had wanted Sehun to grow up smart and successful and become the village doctor or maybe a government official living in the capital or something along those lines. Sometimes Sehun was half glad they weren’t around to see the kind of people he associated himself with now, the sort of interactions he had with the law now.

The blond played with the end of the rope some more before tossing it aside nonchalantly. Kai was standing by the edge of the boat, peering over into the waters. 

Sehun’s gut twisted again and he forced himself to push the memories of his past back into a tucked- away crevice of his brain. He stepped next to Kai, mirroring the man’s actions.

“Well, I’m not too sure those little monsters are out and about currently,” Kai said with pursed lips and thinly veiled disappointment. The tanned captain crossed his strong arm over his chest and lifted a foot to rest it on the edge of the boat. The little white whistle dangled from a corner of his mouth and Sehun had to suppress the urge to yank it out and launch it somewhere into the horizon. 

“Hm,” Sehun grunted, frowning slightly, “well I suppose this just means we’ll have to go back!” He patted Kai on the back and looped up the nets, whistling a little tune while he was at it, mood considerably lifted upon hearing the waters were free of any tailed beauties. 

Kai hummed, still staring down at the rippling waters. To his right, Sehun had already taken the initiative and set the wooden propellers for the direction they’d come from. Normally Kai would’ve scolded Sehun for not waiting for orders before moving on his own, but he let it slide this time. Actually, it felt like lately, he’d been letting Sehun get away with a lot of things he normally wouldn’t allow without at least a light slap on the wrist.

Kai dipped a hand into the cool water, enjoying the contrast between the coldness and his own hot hand.

“Sehun,” he addressed the younger suddenly, making the other’s head look up, “you’ve been actin’ strange lately. Everything good?”

Sehun let out a laugh that he hoped didn’t sound shaky. “I’m fine. Just a bit too much drinking last night,” he lied and bashfully rubbed the back of his neck to play the part as well. 

Kai clapped his hands together and threw his head back in laughter. He playfully kicked the back of one of Sehun’s legs, making it buckle. 

“”Keep your nose out of trouble,” Kai said, crossing his arms and sitting down on the bench lining the inside of the boat. The aforementioned blond nodded his head and turned away from the older man. 

Sehun had known Kai for nearly a decade, so why was it that he had never felt farther apart from the man?

* * *

By the time they’d arrived back at Exotica’s ports, the sun was already rising. Sehun had never felt happier to get off a boat, and he’d made a straight beeline for the nearest inn so he could sleep the day away and nurse his raging headache while the Black Pearl waited for whatever it was that Kai had business here. The captain had stated they would be staying at least another night, so Sehun had been able to wander off without much care. 

Sea creatures and dangerous captains forgotten, Sehun had successfully managed to doze off in a much needed sleep in a little inn right by the seaside. By the time he had finally opened his eyes, the day had come and gone and he woke alone to a dark room. 

Sehun yawned and stretched like a cat, rolling his shoulders to work out all the kinks. His stomach growled loudly, complaining about the lack of food all day and Sehun had to agree with it. He’d rested up, and now it was time to take care of the second most important thing on his mind, currently. Food. 

He was still in his clothes from last night, which felt a little disgusting, but Sehun had been in worse situations so he didn’t give his rumpled and stained clothes much thought. 

The night breeze felt comforting on his warm face, and did a sufficient job in fully waking him up after a day of napping. It had been a while since Sehun had been able to do absolutely nothing productive the entire day and he was going to milk the opportunity for all it was worth. 

The tall man strolled down the streets of Exotica, where street vendors were closing up for the night and townspeople were ushering into humbles abodes. It didn’t take long for him to empty the jangling coins in his pocket for half a loaf of sweetened bread, slightly stale from having been out all day, but still satisfying enough for Sehun’s empty stomach. 

He was completely at ease, chewing thoughtfully on a piece of bread as he made his way down the winding cobblestone path. Without meaning to, Sehun’s legs led him straight to the edge of the dock, where the vibrant rays of the sun were already sinking down into the horizon. 

Sehun closed his eyes and breathed in, deeply. The salty seawater air might have proved slightly off- putting to some people, but, to Sehun, there was no scent in the world that was more calming for him. 

He sank down tiredly, rolling up his breeches halfway up his calf and dangling them over the edge of the dock. The waves gently lulling against his bare skin felt good for his worn and sore feet. 

Sehun popped the last piece of his bread into his mouth and dusted the crumbs off his hands before leaning back against them. He hadn’t been planning on visiting the dock again, tonight, but now that he was here, his mind was starting to wander off again. 

He didn’t even want to think about it anymore, but he couldn’t help it. It was as if his body had subconsciously wanted to see if a certain white- haired mystery would be making another appearance tonight. Could he really be blamed for being a little curious?

But then again, Sehun was foolish. He was mentally chastising himself for thinking Luhan would be coming again to the exact same spot. Their meeting was accidental- it was just luck. That’s all. Sehun just got lucky enough to see a merman in person. 

That’s all. That was absolutely it. And there was absolutely no reason Sehun decided to stay by the docks until the sun had disappeared completely from sight, and pubs were starting to fill up with noise and people who were ready to let loose for the night. 

“This is crazy,” Sehun muttered to himself as he waved a hand around in the water. He had changed positions several times during the course of his spot by the waters, and was currently on his stomach, one hand propping his head up while the other played around in the water. 

He felt like a silly schoolboy who had been stood up by a girl. Only he was a full- grown man who was clinging on to some half- hope that a beautiful being belonging to no one would come back just for him. 

And Sehun didn’t want to admit it, but he thought that perhaps, that was why he was so desperate to see Luhan again. Because at first it had been the allure of fame and wealth, and now-

 

_ Blip _ . 

 

Sehun eyes darted up and the hand that had been in the water stilled. He slowly withdrew it, keeping his eyes trained on the dark waters below. 

It had been the smallest bubble, the quietest sound, but Sehun had noticed it. He was a lot of things, but he was sure his instinct wouldn’t fail him now. If he focused hard enough, he thought he could almost make out the outlines of something moving under the water…

And that was when Sehun decided to stop sticking his head halfway out into the water. It was the slight suspicion that whatever was lurking under the waves wasn’t the white- haired, glittery- tailed one he was waiting for. There wasn’t the same feeling of dazzling and breath- taking beauty. This felt… different.

Sehun clenched a fist as he waited for whatever it was to surface and show its face. The only reassurance he felt was from the fact that he was on land, on good, ol’ solid ground and that he possessed two sturdy legs that could carry him far away from the water’s edge if need be. 

Sehun didn’t have to wait long to see the mystery lurking under the cover of the darkness of the night and the murky, churning waters. 

First the beginnings of a head emerged, followed shortly by round eyes and lips pressed into a thin line. Sehun didn’t even notice he was holding his breath until his lungs were suddenly screaming for oxygen. 

From the neck- up, the figure bathed in moonlight looked like a normal human, but Sehun didn’t miss the slight flickerings of water behind its head, movements below the water that could only have been as a result of a tail. 

He almost felt dizzy, and blamed it on account of not having eaten enough the entire day. How could he have been so lucky as to come across not one, but two mermaids?

“Um,” Sehun muttered quietly, not quite sure what to say. It was slightly unnerving, the intense stare and disapproving purse of the lips he was receiving from the merman, but he wasn’t sure why. Unlike Luhan, this one was dark- haired (Sehun thought he could see shades of red tresses, but he wasn’t sure), and hard looks and none of the sweet, shy attitude he’d got from Luhan.

Did it want something, perhaps? Maybe there was a connection between Luhan’s absence and this merman’s instead?

It turned out Sehun did not need to ponder the thought for long, as the merman suddenly reached a hand out of the water, arm outstretched to Sehun.

The blond crouched down so he was at least somewhat more on the merman’s level, and accepted the tied parcel dangling from the merman’s fingertips. 

It was wrapped in some kind of slick, reedy material, and looped closed with some type of stringy plant, almost like seaweed. The package was small and fit comfortably in the palm of Sehun’s hand, but he was quite bewildered as to why he was receiving it in the first place. 

“Luhan,” the merman suddenly said. It peaked Sehun’s interest immediately. 

“Luhan?” The man repeated, becoming more confused the longer the interaction drew on. 

The merman nodded and a wet strand of hair fell over his eyebrow. 

“Luhan,” he said again, firmly putting to the package in Sehun’s hand. As the blond looked down at the pointed object, the merman frowned slightly, the corners of his mouth turning down. He shook his head slowly, almost in a disapproving manner and Sehun cocked his head and furrowed his eyebrows, hoping the merman would elaborate more. 

He said something in the same warbled, watery language as he heard Luhan’s words being uttered in, but somehow with none of the same tinkering charm Luhan’s voice brought Sehun. Not to mention it seemed this merman couldn’t speak a lick of Sehun’s tongue, making it damn near impossible to understand anything coming out of the tailed man’s mouth, currently. 

“I… I’m sorry, I don’t know what you’re saying,” Sehun said apologetically, eyebrows knitting together. The merman huffed in annoyance, crossing two pale arms across his chest that was submerged underwater. Sehun noticed how his hands and forearms looked as if they had been dipped in translucent, red scales, covering his hands and then slowly dissipating the farther up his arm they travelled. It made him wonder if not all mermaids had the same exterior look? If he recalled, Luhan’s arms had been smooth and free of any glittering scales, as he so fondly remembered. 

Sehun was pulled out of his sweet, cloudy memories when he felt a sudden splash of water to his face. He spluttered, wiping salty seawater from his eyes and the taste out his mouth. 

Angrily, he looked to the merman in the water with an accusing look in his eyes. The merman replied Sehun’s glare with an equally as intense stare, paired with a sour turn of his full lips, as if he’d truly rather do anything but be there with the human at the moment.

The merman said something again, rather angrily, and Sehun only caught Luhan’s name once before he interrupted with, “Luhan? Yes? I know Luhan? Luhan,” Sehun gestured to the water in front of him, “you know Luhan? Who are you?” Sehun pointed to the merman and then put his hands up in the universal  _ I don’t know _ pose. 

The merman rolled his glassy eyes and then placed a hand on his chest. 

“Kyungsoo,” he said simply. Sehun understood that much and nodded.

“Ok, Kyungsoo. Me,” Sehun pointed to himself, “Sehun.” Kyungsoo nodded, as if he had already known this. 

“Luhan,” Kyungsoo looked pointedly at the package that was still in Sehun’s hand. The human held it up in front of him and looked at it quizzically. 

“This is from Luhan?” He asked rhetorically, almost too scared to unwrap the precious gift from the sweet little water nymph. The blond grinned widely and pocketed the gift, wrested his hands on his knees as he crouched down closer to Kyungsoo. “Tell Luhan thanks.”

Kyungsoo stared at Sehun for a moment longer, almost to the point where the human started fidgeting uncomfortably under the impenetrable gaze of the merman. He felt like he’d somehow done something wrong with the way Kyungsoo’s eyes were fixed on him so intensely. 

“Luhan,” Kyungsoo finally said, for the umpteenth time that night, as he began drifting away from the dock’s edge, “no. Go. Soon. Luhan no, soon. Go.” And as silently as a pin dropping into the ocean, Kyungsoo disappeared from sight, dark hair and red scales and all. 

His final words had made Sehun’s heart thump embarrassingly hard in his chest, though. Luhan, gone? Was he coming soon? Or maybe he was trying to tell Sehun to leave? To stay away from Luhan? Luhan didn’t want to see him anymore? 

Whatever it was, Sehun felt like he’d just dipped his toes into the wrong world, and now there was going to be a boatload of problems coming for him. 

With a long exhale, Sehun stood back up and kicked his legs out to start the blood flowing through them again. Kyungsoo’s words were still ringing in his head, but without any further explanations on the merman’s cryptic parting farewell, Sehun had no other option but to stop trying to wrap his head around it. 

Instead, he pulled out the little package he now knew was from Luhan. Just the name brought a lilting smile to the man’s face as he fingered the tied reed around the little object. Carefully, Sehun slid a finger under a layer of the wrapping material, easily snapping the binding around and making short work of the rest of the packaging. 

Nestled in the wraps was a single pearl, pure white and dainty and hardly bigger than his thumb nail. Sehun admired the little sphere, taking it and rolling it around carefully with his index and thumb, but he was slightly puzzled as to why Luhan had given it to him. Nonetheless, the man felt a tug of something foreign inside him as he carefully wrapped the little gift back up, tucking it inside his unbuttoned and flowing white dress shirt. 

Sehun mussed the back of his hair, which was slightly scraggly and damp from both being splashed with seawater as well as one too many nights without washing it. But seeing as he’d practically slept the entire day away, Sehun figured he’d have a drink or two and a bite to eat before turning in for the night. 

“Ah,” Sehun sighed pleasantly as he stretched his arms up toward the sky and yawned. It was a shame he hadn’t been able to see Luhan again tonight, but he supposed the little white- haired merman would come around again sooner or late-

Sehun stopped in his tracks when the thought hit him. How could he forget? The Black Pearl was scheduled to leave the following day, if not that very morning. Tonight was probably his last chance to catch a glimpse of Luhan, if his earlier meetings with both him and Kyungsoo were consistent and they only came around at night. 

But then again, hadn’t Kai said dawn was prime time for mermaids? Sehun wasn’t quite sure what to believe now, but he was hoping a few shots of whiskey would quell whatever silly, puppy- love worries he was being plagued with. 

Sehun lingered around the ocean edge for a few more moments, having stepped off the dock and now walking along the water in a clear area free of any anchored boats and ships. He wanted to enjoy being so carefree a little longer before he was back on the Black Pearl and headed toward another unknown destination. The thought hadn’t occurred to him before but, now, he suddenly felt uneasy at being whisked away to wherever the wind took the Black Pearl’s sails. He never had a problem letting his captain lead the crew to whatever their next adventure was, and Sehun had actually quite liked not being tethered down to any one place. 

But… there was the strangest feeling of… almost sorrow (or was it regret, perhaps?) at parting Exotica. Sehun could only blame the feeling on a certain water- dwelling being, who seemed incredibly skilled in turning Sehun’s mind and thoughts topsy- turvy without even being able to speak the same language. 

“Luhan,” Sehun whippered the name to himself, enjoying the exotic way it sounded. Granted, it would never sound as silky coming from the merman’s own lips, but Sehun felt he didn’t even need to go to a pub to get drunk off saying Luhan’s name a thousand times over. 

“Sehun!”

The aforementioned blonde's head snapped around faster than the crack of a whip at the call of his name, said in a watery tone that could only belong to…

“Luhan?!” Sehun could hardly believe his eyes as he rushed to the sandy shore, where the moonlight illuminated the figure of a human torso attached to a silky, multicolored tail. 

Luhan was slowly inching forward on his forearms, trying to edge closer to the human, but Sehun quickly approached him and took him by the hands, concerned for his being out of the water. 

“Luhan, what, I- I thought Kyungsoo said you were,” Sehun stuttered all sorts of gibberish as he mind tried to grapple what was happening. Was this truly a beautiful stroke of luck in Sehun’s otherwise hapless life? 

“Sehun, I am not supposed to be here,” Luhan said in soft, lilting voice with big eyes filled with concern. Sehun’s eyebrows shot up to his hairline when he realized he could actually  _ understand  _ what Luhan was saying, none of that warbled, mer- language he’d heard from Kyungsoo. He thought Luhan’s voice was already beautiful, but hearing him and being able to understand made it ten times more so. 

“I- um, ok this is,” Sehun’s heart was racing faster than a hummingbird’s, “let’s get you into the water, ok? Please, Luhan, I- this makes me nervous,” he confessed, and reached to pick up the smaller one when he suddenly waved his hands frantically, grabbing Sehun’s wrists to stop him.

“No! I- I cannot!” Luhan fretted, breathing heavily and looking back at the waters behind him. Sehun noticed how the tip of Luhan’s tail was still brushing against the water, and how it flinched away from the edge as if stung. 

Sehun wasn’t sure if Luhan was able to survive without water, and he didn’t particularly want to test the theory out, but if Luhan said he was alright, then Sehun supposed he ought to listen to the merman instead. 

Sehun nodded slowly and brought down his hands, ignoring the way Luhan’s stayed attached to his wrists. “Explain how you- you’re speaking my language? You knew it this entire time? I- your friend Kyungsoo brought this…?” Sehun was in a rush to reach into his shirt and bring out the little pearl, still wrapped up in the reedy material. Luhan seemed strangely calm as he nodded and closed Sehun’s palm around the pearl, bringing it up to his chest. 

“Sehun, I made a deal with a warlock of the sea. I asked him to give me something that would allow me to talk to you, and he gave me this,” Luhan lightly shook the hand that was wrapped around Sehun’s larger one. “He cast a spell on it so that as long as you have it with you, I will be able to speak your tongue,” Luhan explained. 

Sehun was at a loss for words. All he could think about was the fact that he was holding some kind of magical, warlock- made, voodoo pearl? That made it possible for Luhan to understand him?

“A warlock of the sea. This is,” Sehun breathed in, “a lot to take in.” It was quite an understatement. 

Luhan nodded quickly, tail shifting slightly and digging into the sand so that it was folded underneath him. 

“He is known as Jongdae and only those who are willing to sacrifice something are able to trade with him. And I know, but Sehun, I hope you understand, please,” Luhan’s eyes were shining so brightly under the moonlight, and the look in his eyes suddenly made Sehun feel at ease, a blanket of comfort washing over him. 

He felt a small, cold, hand lightly touch his jaw, just feather- like touches, barely there. Luhan timidly pressed down the rest of his hand on Sehun’s jaw, openly admiring the angle and rugged handsomeness of the human in front of him. 

It felt like some cheesy, romance novel, like the ones Sehun would sometimes hear Baekhyun pestering Chanyeol about. Under the iridescent moonlight, Luhan looked like a godsend angel. The most unworldly being Sehun had ever laid eyes on. He felt a burning inside his chest that was only ignited once Luhan had touched him.

“Luhan,” Sehun whispered, edging closer to the merman ever so slowly, “I… I think I’m going to kiss you, ok?” 

“What is that?” 

And just like that, the mood was suddenly broken when Sehun froze before being unable to hold in a laugh, his face breaking out into the largest of smiles as he gently caressed the clueless merman’s soft cheek with his knuckles. 

“You don’t know what a kiss is?” Sehun said fondly, albeit a little in amazement. He supposed Luhan’s people had a whole separate culture from humans. Not that he minded. He’d just have to have Luhan tell him all about it someday. 

Luhan shook his head in an almost shy way. It made Sehun want to smother him and hold him and protect him from all the horrible crooks and swindlers of the world (he chose to exempt himself from the former and latter).

“I’ll show you, then,” Sehun said lowly, before gently taking Luhan’s chin and angling it slightly up, the other arm coming around Luhan’s delicate spine to tug him closer. The sudden pull made Luhan gasp, splaying his hands against Sehun’s chest in an effort to balance himself as he was practically lying half across Sehun’s lap, the other uncaring of the sand that found its way onto his clothes. 

Luhan watched with eyes wide with curiosity as Sehun closed his, leaning close and brushing his slightly chapped lips against Luhan’s in the gentlest of butterfly kisses. Luhan wasn’t sure what was going on, although he assumed the act was something rather intimate, as his cheeks were starting to feel warm with the beginnings of a blush dusting them. 

Sehun seemed to be enjoying it, if the small smile gracing his features was any indication, and he pressed his lips against Luhan’s again, this time firmer, and Luhan pursed his as well, leaning forward to copy Sehun’s actions. Luhan almost shrunk back when he felt something wet swipe across his bottom lip, and he realized it had been Sehun’s tongue.

“Open your mouth,” Sehun murmured against Luhan’s mouth, and the merman obeyed obediently, cutely forming an ‘o’ with his lips. 

The kiss was gentle and Sehun took it slowly, caressing Luhan’s tongue with his own and savoring the salty taste of the sea. Luhan kissed back with passion and eagerness, mimicking everything after Sehun, and while he was obviously very amateur at it, Sehun welcomed the effort. 

The blond planted one more kiss on Luhan’s lips before drawing back, eyes half- hooded.

“Luhan… something about you drives me crazy,” Sehun confessed, toying with the merman’s snow- white hair. The tailed beauty visibly brightened up, making a strange chirping sound before wiggling his way more onto Sehun, snuggling up the clothed human and nestling his head on his chest. 

“Me too,” he admitted, “you make me feel warm. And alive. You’re exciting.” Luhan said unabashedly. Sehun’s ears were tinged red at the merman’s words. How did he not feel embarrassed confessing such solemn feelings?

Sehun wanted to remain like that forever, holding Luhan’s small frame in his arms and listen to the waves crashing against the shore, but a thought that had pestering him the entire time finally came to his attention. 

“Should you be out of the water? Is that safe?” Sehun asked seriously, looking at Luhan. The white- haired man raised his head and for a second, Sehun saw a glimpse of guilt flash across his face. “Luhan,” Sehun warned. He wasn’t about to risk drying Luhan out for the sake of a couple kisses and a cuddle, however tempting the thought was. 

“I can’t go back,” Luhan said quietly but Sehun picked up his words with alarm. 

“You can’t go back? What do you mean?”

“I- I snuck out, Sehun. I had Kyungsoo bring you the pearl and I ran away from home. My father had forbid me to come back here,” Luhan said sadly, and Sehun could already see tears forming in his doe- eyes. 

A light pink tear gathered in the corner of Luhan’s eye and rolled down his ivory cheek. Sehun caught it with the tip of his index finger, admiring the pretty shade. Even Luhan’s sadness was beautiful, Sehun thought. 

“So you can’t go into the water? Will your father know?” Sehun asked. He wasn’t worried about Luhan’s father so much as he harbored concern for the nymph himself. It left a bitter taste in his mouth, but Sehun would rather see Luhan alive and swimming through the currents than dried out in his arms. He was willing to be selfless for it. 

“It’s ok, Sehun. I’m going to-” Luhan suddenly gasped loudly and flinched away from something that flitted through the air and landed in the sand dangerously close to Luhan’s tail. Sehun immediately shielded the smaller male, and upon closer look, recognized the projectile to be a barbed arrow. His heart sunk when he recognized the barbed tip, too. 

It was the same kind that Kai used.

“Captain Kai,” Sehun addressed without even turning around to look at the man. He could tell by the way that Luhan was quivering and crouched low in his hold that Kai was scaring him and his heart ached for the poor sea baby. 

“So this is your dirty little secret. Looks like you ran off and caught yourself your very own little sea wench, huh?” Kai smirked and Sehun could see the way his pearly whites glinted in the dull light. 

Sehun stood up and nudged Luhan with his leg to keep his behind it. He felt two hands grasp the leg of his breeches, like a small child, and felt the need to protect Luhan that much more. 

“Kai, please live him out of this, he’s innocent,” Sehun said in a steady tone. The tanned man was on a rock ledge overlooking the sea when he jumped off, the height not being much more than nine feet. Kai landed with a heavy grunt, dusting off his knees and adjusting the waistband of his breeches. Sehun caught a glimpse of something black glinting in his hand and recognized it as a pistol. 

“Innocent? Sehun,” Kai chuckled, “it’s just a mermaid. It’s not even human.” The words bit and stung Sehun badly and painted his vision red. Luhan, not human? He’d proven he was capable of just as much as humans, maybe even more. Sehun ground his teeth when he heard Luhan’s tail shuffling around on the sand. 

“No, Kai you’re wrong. His name’s Luhan,” Sehun ground out through clenched teeth. 

Kai took another step forward. Sehun reached down for Luhan’s hand, intertwining it with his own. 

“Have you really gone mad, Sehun? Do you have any idea what a mermaid would be worth? Think of the riches- we’d be beyond wealthy!” Kai spread his arms out, and Sehun felt nothing but loathing. Was that really all Kai thought about a life? How much it was worth in gold?

“Do you hear yourself right now? You’re the one that’s gone barking mad…”

Kai took another step forward and then suddenly, Sehun was hoisting Luhan into his arms bridal style, sprinting down the coastline and headed back toward town as fast as he could with his hands full of mermaid. 

A blast from his right startled him and drew out a cry from Luhan, who had locked his arms around Sehun’s neck and was currently hanging on for dear life, tail flopping over the crook of Sehun’s elbow haphazardly. 

“Sorry,” Sehun muttered when the merman nuzzled his nose against the cotton material of Sehun’s shirt, eyebrows drawn up in fear and confusion. 

Sehun threw a backward glance at his chaser, who’d somehow disappeared under the cloak of darkness the night brought. Sehun’s heart was pounding wildly in his chest and his arms ached, but he kept running, eyes darting all around to catch a glimpse of his so- called captain. 

Nearly ten years of camaraderie- thrown into the ocean just like that. The thought twisted something in Sehun’s chest, but he ignored it in favor of climbing the small rocky uphill back up to the cobblestone street of the town. 

“Ah!” Something whizzed by Sehun and just barely grazed his left shoulder, but the pain was enough for his arm to go slack momentarily, Luhan’s tail flopping down onto the stone ground. 

“Sehun!” The merman held the man’s face gingerly with both hands, eyes looking imploringly at the other as Sehun gritted his teeth and checked the wound. A blossoming red stain was already forming in stark contrast with his white shirt. 

A small, webbed hand lightly pressed on it and Sehun hissed in pain. Luhan immediately retracted his fingers and looked to Sehun in worry, pink tears already forming in his eyes. 

“It’s ok, I’m fine,” Sehun smiled wobbly, and hoisted Luhan back up while ignoring the screaming pain in his shoulder, “I’ll just have to do this instead,” Sehun grunted with the effort it took to sling Luhan over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. The little merman wasn’t even close to being heavy, but it still took a lot out of Sehun to keep him balanced with one arm. 

And it was just his luck, too, that that’s when Kai decided to show up, leaning against the front of a building ever so nonchalantly. 

“Going somewhere?” The man mused, dangerously twirling his still- smoking pistol around by the pistol guard. “I thought I taught you better than to run away with your  _ tail  _ stuck between your legs.” 

Sehun didn’t miss the obvious jibe at Luhan, but ignored it all the same. The blond smirked, but it was forced, if the heavy breaths coming out his mouth were any indication. 

“You won’t shoot me,” Sehun said confidently, and he heard a small whimper behind him from Luhan, who grasped the back of Sehun’s shirt tightly. 

“I won’t?”

“You wouldn’t.”

Kai cocked the pistol and aimed it right at Sehun’s head. “And what about now?”

The younger man swallowed hard and felt a droplet of sweat roll down his temple. 

“Kai.”

“Sehun.” The captain seemed quite sure of what he was doing, as his arm didn’t shake and his grip on the pistol was as even as ever. Sehun felt like he was looking at a painting. “I’ll give you to the count of three and if you don’t put down that mermaid,” Kai pulled the trigger and Sehun flinched as the bullet hit a wooden crate behind him, “then we’re gonna have a problem.”

What was he supposed to do? What in the world could he possibly do? If he sacrificed himself, Luhan had no way of defending himself. If he gave Luhan up...no, that wasn’t even an option. 

“One.” Sehun shifted a foot in the direction of the sea.

“Two.” 

“Kai, don’t, it’s not worth it.”

“Three.” A shot ran out as Sehun flung himself over the edge of the town. His mind was absolute chaos and his body was on total auto mode as he rolled onto his side just enough to brace the landing impact instead of Luhan.

“What are you doing?!” Luhan cried out as Sehun forced himself to grab onto Luhan’s thin waist and run straight toward the water. The merman's tail dragged slightly on the sand, leaving behind them a trail to follow into the ocean.

He could hear gunshots raining down from above, narrowly missing him and hitting the sand behind him instead. 

Sehun plunged into the cold water with reckless ambition, Luhan clinging to his forearms like a wet cat and nearly falling out of his arms altogether. 

“St- stop!” Luhan struggled to hoist himself out of the water and Sehun found himself with his face buried in Luhan’s stomach. Without noticing, the little pearl he’d been keeping in his shirt pocket had fallen out during the struggle, silently plopping into the water. 

“Luhan- stop, urgh! Struggling! Stop that,” Sehun forcefully peeled the thin arms from around his neck and practically dragged the merman through the water with him. Sehun had never been much of a strategist, so this was the best plan he could think of currently. He slowly churned farther and farther out to sea until the water came up to his chest, and then pushed the white- haired boy into the waves, head under and all. 

The water wasn’t even dangerously deep for Sehun, as he could stand and comfortably breathe with his head above water, but it was as if a switch turned on as soon as Luhan went down under, and the already restless waves became even choppier. 

Luhan reappeared shortly after, face shining with anger and fear and still yet, concern for Sehun, and he started speaking quickly, but Sehun realized he couldn’t understand a word coming out of his pretty lips. 

He patted his shirt pocket and turned it inside out, groaning loudly when it turned out naught. 

“It’s ok, Luhan, alright? We’ll figure something out,” Sehun reassured the frantic merman, who didn’t seem more complacent at all. His frenzy was only reignited when another familiar face popped up out of the water. This was turning out to be the wildest night of Sehun’s short life.

Luhan exclaimed something loudly, locking hands with the dark red- haired merman with the straight face from earlier, and Sehun just watched awkwardly as the two conversed quickly in their own language. It struck a chord in Sehun when he realized there was still so much about Luhan he didn’t know, probably would never be able to understand. And he was still in his thoughts when a gunshot ran out and he could feel the heat of a bullet whizzing by before it planted itself into the water. 

“You running off with your mermaid bride, Oh Sehun?” A voice called out from the shore. Sehun looked over his shoulder to see Kai walking forward, pistol held up and directed right at the three in the water. Perhaps it was his imagination when he spotted the pistol waver slightly when the captain noticed not one, but two mermaids.

A noise resembling something like a gasp of wonder came from Kyungsoo that made both Luhan and Sehun look at him. The dark- haired merman flushed red to match his tail upon the other two’s gaze and quickly looked away, shifting to hide himself behind Sehun. 

And it was then, when Sehun couldn’t imagine things getting any worse, that an eerie darkness made the night impossibly darker, and the waves suddenly became erratically choppier, from them a large figure emerging. 

“Holy shit,” Sehun said when a human torso emerged from the middle of the waves, the man holding a shining (and dangerous- looking) trident in one hand and a band of gold resting atop his golden locks.

Luhan whimpered fearfully and curled his iridescent tail around Sehun’s waist, hugging him from the back like a baby koala would its mother. There was a sinking, dreadful feeling in the human’s stomach that this person was someone who would cause very, very bad things to happen. 

Out of the corner of his eye, Sehun saw Kai straighten out his arm, the gun held at eye level. Poised to shoot. 

It happened so fast. It happened impossibly fast. And the waters and the darkness clouded his eyesight and senses so all Sehun really could do was rely on his basic instincts and move as they saw fit. 

 

He wrapped his arms around Luhan and turned, shielding him from Kai’s searching aim. Kai aimed. 

 

He pulled the trigger. It cut through the air and hit Sehun in the back, dead- on. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> no, this is not the end- I decided to add a third part/ epilogue! But anyways, thanks a lot for all your kind comments on the previous chapter- they mean a lot. This will be stated in the epilogue too, but I've decided to do a prompt request/ oneshot- request of sorts. Basically, if you want me to write a oneshot (any pairing, although I will specify which ones I prefer/ know about), just comment/ PM me and I'll make it happen! Look forward to more details~  
> also follow my tumblr @chenbox if you ever want to rant about exo ;) shameless plug

**Author's Note:**

> thoughts? :) thanks for reading.  
> edit: I'm also looking for a beta to proofread this as well as future fics- let me know if you're interested!


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